


I Didn't Know You Almost Lost Me

by TinyDragonSnake



Series: I Didn't Know... [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is worried sick, Angst, Chloe is evil, F/M, Gabriel is a good dad, Gabriel isn't Hawkmoth, Marinette gets hurt, Tom and Sabine are scared out of their wits, and Nathanael is a helpful angel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-04 05:57:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6644077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyDragonSnake/pseuds/TinyDragonSnake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette gets critically injured thanks to Chloe and Adrien is lest distraught and angry at himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We needed angst, we need to cry

_This can't be happening, it just can't be happening!_

_I should have been there! I should have stopped her!_

_Oh god this is all my fault!_

_I'm a horrible boyfriend and partner and now she's suffering because of me!_

_Please, please make it through this, get better, **please**!_

Adrien's hand slipped from Marinette's limp one. The doctors wheeled her away as fast as they could down the hall and past the doors. They swung shut, blocking his view of his beloved. The blonde stood there, arm outstretched still, alone. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes when a nurse ushered him to the waiting room. Panic fluttered up into his chest as he slumped into a hard chair. The day was lost to him now, the only things he could remember being the sight of Marinette up against a bloodstained wall and a small but steadily growing pool of it leaking from her arm. Could only remember the fear and terror as he hurriedly called for an ambulance, leapt into the vehicle as they tried wheeling her away, clung to her as they tried staunching her wounds. Could only remember the anger and sadness in his heart when she let out a weak word, a name, before falling into unconsciousness.

"Adrien?" Tom's voice broke through his rushing thoughts.

"Adrien, where's Marinette?" Sabine stood next to her husband.

"She's... She's she's she's in the back," He said, hands flying up to clutch his hair. "They're working on her, they told me she'll be okay but I'm so scared I want to be there with her I want to be sure she's okay I need to be there with her!"

"Relax, son, relax," Tom put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know Mari, she's a fighter, she'll get through this."

"I'm her partner!" Adrien let out an angered whisper, the tears about to spill over. "I'm supposed to protect her and I _didn't_! What kind of partner does that make me!? I couldn't protect her in her civilian form, how can I protect her as Chat Noir!?"

"Adrien, calm down and get a hold of yourself!" Sabine nudged her husband aside and set her hands on Adrien's shoulders. "You're the best partner out there, and you're her only partner. This was only the act of a vengeful girl and if Mari was prepared she would have been able to stop it, and if not she would have called you and you two would have kicked butt like always. Don't worry now, Adrien. When she wakes up, you just give her a big hug and stop worrying about it you're a good partner or not, alright?"

"Alright," He half-heartedly agreed. He blinked away his tears and shuddered seeing Tikki and Plagg briefly poke their heads out to check on him. It hurt, feeling like he failed Marinette.

He sat there with Tom and Sabine on either side of him and Tikki and Plagg hiding in his shirt pocket for over an hour. Worry had set back into his heart and he was fidgety and glancing at the doors every few seconds. He wanted to get up and move around and get rid of all the energy pent up in his body, but he couldn't bring himself to get up. He tried to think back to the good times he had with Marinette, but the longer he dwelt on them the more terrified he became. He wanted to keep making these memories with her, he wanted to keep being happy with her, and he'd be _damned_ if anyone was going to stop him! Another twenty minutes passed before Gabriel and Nathalie stepped into the waiting room. The older Agreste cleared his throat and Adrien mindlessly walked over to him. Nathalie looked worried, and had even abandoned her tablet. Adrien didn't want to admit it, but she had become a sort of surrogate mother, in the same sense Sabine had, if to a lesser degree.

"Son," Gabriel sighed, pushing his glasses up.

"Father, look, I-" The boy started.

"Adrien I understand how upset and terrified you must feel," His father interrupted him. "You feel as if you're powerless, you must hate yourself for not doing all that you know you could, for not being able to go back in time and change things so that this never happened. I understand very, very well."

"Father I couldn't help her!" Adrien suddenly wailed. He flung himself at his father as if he was a child again. Gabriel held his wailing son close, not once minding the hot tears that stained his shirt. Adrien clung to him tightly, slight relief at feeling the tears finally cascade away down his face. He just let out all the anger and fear and sadness he'd built up for the past some years, which had only been accentuated by Marinette's recent condition. To think his father was actually supporting him for once felt nice. "I couldn't help her," The weak mumble came from him. 

"Things will be better soon, Adrien," Gabriel told him, leading him back to the seats. "I know Marinette, and she's strong. She'll make it out of this, sooner or later. She won't leave us anytime soon."

Adrien sniffled and nodded. He leaned against his father for some support, gazing at nothing. Alya and Nino had rushed in at some point, furiously questioning everyone for answers. The only ones who could were Marinette and Tikki, and since Mari was still being worked on and Tikki refused to talk about it, the two friends had very little answers. Nino soon took to rubbing Adrien's back in comfort while Alya paced around in front of them. The three were lost in their own worlds, cut off from their surroundings. Periodically, Nino or Alya would try to talk to Adrien, but they had little luck. The poor boy was numb on the inside. He refused to think about any possible outcome now. 

An hour or two later, finally, a doctor came around to tell everyone they could see the now comatose girl. Adrien wasted no time rushing after the doctor, nervous joy coursing through his veins. He was by Marinette's side faster than the door could open. She was pale, with bandages covering her eye and neck. The heart monitor gave off strong beeps, indicating she was alright for now. 

"Marinette," Adrien whispered to her. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes once again. His hands found hers, and he shivered at how cold they were. It wasn't right for someone normally nice and kind and warm to be so deathly cold. He squeezed the appendage. Even if she wasn't aware, he felt as if she still knew he was there. "Oh Marinette, I'm so sorry, next time this happens I swear I'll be there to keep you safe."

"Adrien, it wasn't your fault," Tikki's wavering voice told him. "It was Chloe's, and she'll get what she deserves." 

"Yes, she will," The blonde growled low in his throat. He turned his attention back to his beloved. She looked so peaceful despite her injuries. The surgeons had closed up several wounds. It turned out that not only had her arm been ripped open, she had many large lacerations on her back that would most definitely leave scars. Her right leg had some minor bruises compared to her battered left leg. She had also suffered from a possible concussion, much to Adrien's growing fear. He squeezed her hand once again and whimpered.

Soon everyone else filed in. Tom and Sabine were on the other side of the bed, holding one another and most likely silently praying for their daughter to be alright. Nino and Alya had taken to a corner of the room. They were simply just watching, though Alya periodically shifted her gaze to her phone whenever someone texted her. Adrien didn't ask. It wasn't much more important than keeping a close eye on his beloved. He wished this moment would last a few moments longer. He knew she was safe, she was alive and here and with him in some way. For once, luck was on his side.

The monitor suddenly picked up its pace. A doctor hurriedly came in and pushed Adrien aside. The blonde was terrified and refused to move away from Marinette. More doctors came in and looked ready to grab him. They were fiddling with the IV bags and scribbling something on the chart. Marinette spasmed and the doctors urged everyone to leave. Adrien refused and shook, trying to get closer, to see if she was alright. He called out her name. Two more doctors rushed in and nabbed him. The blonde strained, growing scared and frantic. He tried calling out to her once again, though deep inside he knew it was pointless. Slowly, he was dragged out the room, the sounds of worried doctors and a wild monitor filling his ears. Any strength he had was gone as he weakly tried to break the hold on his arms. He cried out once again as a wave of panic and dread washed over him. Adrien's heart beat as erratically as the monitor beeped. He started screaming and was vaguely aware that Nino and his father were attempting to help hold him back. He screamed for his love once again just as he was finally forced through the door.

And the monitor stopped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette wakes up (and Adrien is strangely calm)

Marinette groaned. The room she was in was far too bright and that bothered her. She could feel the headache coming over her swiftly and she wanted to avoid it best she could. The smelled sickeningly sterile; she was so used to the liveliness of the air outside and in the bakery. Live air, compared to this dead air. She was aware of the thing blanket draped over her, and some sort of face mask. Her arm stung and burned. In fact,  _all_ ~~~~ ~~~~of her burned. It felt like she lost a fight with an angry bull.

_Or Chloe's hired thug._

The memory came flooding back to her. The man was huge, maybe a head or two taller than her father. The way he looked at her made Marinette think that just maybe he wasn't all there in the head. Chloe stood next to him with a shit eating grin on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. 

_"Stop dating my Adrikins and my friend here won't have to deal with you," The blonde girl had smugly said. She truly believed Marinette would back off._

_"As if, Chloe," Marinette had sighed. "Adrien and I really love each other. We're not going to stop being together just because you don't like it."_

_"We_ belong _together, unlike you two," The blonde laughed. Oh, if only she could tell Chloe she was Ladybug and he was Chat Noir, and they were always destined to be together one way or the other. But, as she couldn't, Marinette simply laughed and turned to leave._

_"Chloe, have you ever thought about how you're not anywhere near Adrien's type?" She stifled a giggle. "Adrien likes nice, quiet, selfless girls. You're quite the opposite."_

_"I am the kind, most selfless person in the world!" Chloe growled._

_"Look, Chloe," Marinette sighed. "I've got to go help at the bakery and help Alya with something after, I need to get going and you're holding me up."_

_"Lies, you're just trying to make sure Adrien won't be able to talk to me," The blonde huffed. "If he's with you, he won't look at his phone when I call or text him."_

_"Adrien has a shoot going on for another half hour and then he has Chinese, then he's going to be getting ready to attend a meeting with his dad," Marinette relayed the information. "I'm not going to be spending any time with him today, unless he sneaks out in the middle of the night to visit me."_

Which he just might _, Marinette had thought. She brushed off the angered look on Chloe's face and tried to leave. Suddenly, she felt searing pain coursing through her arm. When she looked at it, she nearly retched. It had been split wide open, and she could see the rosy white of her bloody bone showing. She screamed in delayed pain and terror, slipping onto her rear. The bone oozed out at a moderate pace, much like a slow moving stream. Marinette wanted to drop her arm, she really did, but she felt that if she kept it up it wouldn't be as bad later on. The thug advanced on her and grabbed her by the front of her shirt. He threw her hard against the wall and she could hear and feel the_ crack _on her skull. She sluggishly scrambled to her feet, letting out a breathless gasp feeling something slice up her back, over and over. She could feel the blood drizzle out of her. She started to panic, the blood rushing out faster the harder her heart beat. The thug laughed and grabbed her leg in his large, rough hand and hauled her up. His grin was disgusting, and his breath smelled like he just finished off a crappy restaurant's dumpster's contents. He raised the knife he was using to attack her - kill her it seemed more like - and slammed her back to the ground. He stomped on her other leg, earning a sharp screech of pain. Tears escaped her eyes, blurring her already fading vision. He kicked her stomach and gave another slash to her injured arm before leaving with Chloe, whom Marinette vaguely realized was calling Adrien._

_Everything burned. She could feel her life ebbing out of her body. Tikki's terrified shriek did nothing to stop the darkness slowly overtaking her. She registered herself smiling, maybe sadly, at the trembling kwami before closing her eyes. She was positive she'd lose her life, all because Chloe was so self absorbed and wanted everything in the world. Because of stupid pettiness. Marinette wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Not willingly, at least. She couldn't feel her body. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, her lungs burned and cried out for her to breathe properly. Finally, she just let her body slump. A voice mutedly called out to her and it could've been her name. She wouldn't have been able to tell. Then, she was being prodded, and shifted, and felt someone holding onto her hand. Then, they were gone and she was asleep. Her dream was so strange, replaying the day's events, yet Chloe didn't confront her, the thug didn't attack her. She and Adrien called one another as they normally would and her blonde cat whined about his schedule. Maybe she was just having a dream in class, and all of that didn't happen._

_Blackness consumed her vision. She felt like panicking again. Her heart beat violently in her chest and she couldn't breathe. She felt as if she was thrashing around, trying to claw at her throat and get air into her body. Then, things were still. Her heart stopped pounding, her lungs quieted, and things just stopped seeming to exist. Marinette felt relief, but at the same time she felt like she was leaving things behind. She couldn't do that. She had Adrien! Adrien, and Tikki, and Plagg, and her parents and Gabriel and Alya and Nino! She couldn't leave them! She couldn't leave the people of Paris! She had to struggle back, she had to struggle to get her heart beating again, and if her lungs burning indicated she was alive and well then so be it!_

And then she woke up to the brightness of the strange room and the harsh sterility of the air. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and hissed. Trying once again, she noticed a blur of pink and a blob of red. The red blob heaved a heavy sigh of relief and got closer. When her eyes focused, Marinette was surprised Nathanael was sitting next to her. He had a large, relieved smile and his eyes were soft.

"Thank god!" The redhead gave an airy laugh. "Oh, oh _shit_ I gotta call Adrien!"

Marinette watched Nathanael hastily pull out his phone and dial her boyfriend. He tripped over his words in his excitement and had a pleased grin when he slipped the device back in his pocket. He sat himself back in the chair and nodded towards the door.

"Alix went to go tell everyone else," He told her. Gently, the boy took her hand. "We've all been really worried about you, Mari."

"What's going on?" She weakly asked him.

"Adrien found you passed out at the school," Nathanael shuddered. "Said you were all bloody and in a pool of the stuff, and when they got you here he was so worried, all of us were..."

Marinette could sense he wasn't telling her something. Something big had to have happened for everyone to be worried. She struggled to sit up despite Nathanael's attempts at making her lay down.

"Nath," She whispered, not trusting her throat. She could feel it start soring up. "What happened to me?"

"Marinette," He turned his eyes away from hers. Just as he was about to tell her, their class burst into the room.

The next ten or so minutes was spent on everyone half yelling at her and half thanking every higher power she was alright. Cries of "Don't ever do that again!", and "You idiot!" echoed all around her. Rose, _Rose_ , had even smacked her lightly for what she did. No one would answer her though. When they quieted, a single clearing throat urged them all to move. They parted like the Red Sea to reveal Adrien standing there with a calm smile and his hands behind his back. Juleka urged everyone to leave, promising they'd return when Adrien was done talking to her. The door clicked shut, leaving the two in silence.

"Marinette!" Tikki yelled, zipping over to hug her chosen's cheek. Tears ran down her small face. "We thought... Oh Marinette!"

"What happened?" She looked from Tikki to Plagg and Adrien. Plagg looked away and floated off while Adrien took to sitting next to her.

"Oh Mari," He cooed. He still held the smile on his face. His eyes were dark with emotion. "You died."

" _What?!_ " She bolted upright, despite the immense pain it caused her.

Adrien shushed her and gently leaned her back onto the bed. He placed as soft a kiss as he could muster on her forehead and rubbed her arm.

"You died," He sighed. "For maybe a minute or two. I don't know."

"How do you not know?!"

"When the machine stopped," He gulped. "I freaked out. Next thing I knew I was soaring across the sky as Chat towards the Bourgeois Hotel."

"Adrien," Marinette's voice had a hard edge to it, despite being so weak. "Why did you go to the Bourgeois Hotel?"

"I wanted to see Chloe," Adrien shrugged. "I was so angry, you were dead for all I knew, and I didn't know what else to do."

"Adrien," Marinette whispered.

"I had lost my love, my partner, my best friend, my everything," He chuckled. "In hindsight, it was stupid. I might've compromised our identities by accident doing this."

"What did you do Adrien," Marinette said, willing back the lump in her throat.

"I just yelled at her, used Cataclysm on a pillow of hers, told her what she did, how much you mean to me, how my life is gone with you gone," He laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt her. Scared the crap outta her, but she's not physically injured."

Marinette didn't want to know what he told her. She was just sure that, as long as they didn't pursue charges against her, Chloe would bother her about her relationship with Chat. That was not something she wanted to deal with. At the same time, though, she didn't exactly want to press charges. It'd be a whole media scandal, she could see it. _Adrien Agreste's girlfriend assaulted by Mayor Bourgeois' daughter, left for dead in pool of blood_. Knowing the tabloids that would soon follow after, they'd make up all sorts of lies and spread rumors about how everyone was this or that, that Marinette deserved it or that she had bullied Chloe to the breaking point or something. Their classmates would deny it all, of course, and so would anyone that knew the girl. But, unfortunately, someone with influence would fall for the rumors and hold them as truth and spread them even further without bothering to actually fact-check anything.

She sighed and settled herself in the bed. Everything still hurt. She wanted to sleep. But then her parents and Gabriel came in, sighing with relief and trying to hold her close. Adrien had stopped them, citing that she was still injured, she shouldn't be hugged just yet, at least until her back had healed up properly. They had reluctantly agreed. The rest of the day passed like that, surrounded by her little family. (When had she started considering Gabriel part of her family?) Her parents lightly scolded her about not taking Chloe seriously enough, and her father swore he'd find the man that hurt her. Gabriel had already placed calls in to cancel many, many appointments and meetings, just so he could stay at the hospital and support his son.

Disturbingly, not once did Adrien freak out over her or lose that soft, calm smile of his. He was just so _relaxed_ , even though he himself had said he was basically a wreck earlier. The only thing Marinette could think of was that he was incredibly pleased from scaring the hell out of Chloe. Let loose some anger he'd probably been bottling up the past some years. Honestly, he scared her a bit. Adrien usually fussed over her for the tiniest details. Him being so calm and collected like this, when she had _almost fucking died holy shit_ , was terrifying.

"Adrien," She tugged on his sleeve when everyone left.

"Yes, Bugaboo?" He cooed at her. Tikki and Plagg, she realized, had fallen asleep somewhere in the room at some point. They were usually so chatty with the two.

"I almost died," She said.

"Mhmm," Adrien hummed.

"Why aren't you freaking out more?" She asked. "Why aren't you promising to get whoever did this? Why aren't you trying to find that guy? Why aren't you trying to attack Chloe?"

"Oh, Marinette," He chuckled. Carefully, he brushed away a stray bit of hair. "I already did what I needed to do."

"Oh my god Adrien did you kill someone!?" Marinette shot up again. Adrien laughed as he settled her back down.

"No, no!" He assured her through his giggles. "All I did was let Chloe know how badly she screwed up. When I detransformed and got back here I called her and told her that Chat had told me Mari had died, and that he found out Chloe was to blame. I _tore into her_ , Mari! The only time I think she's been this remorseful in years!"

"Adrien, no," Marinette groaned. "She could become an akuma again, you know that. God knows what she could turn into now."

"We'll take care of her," He shrugged.

"Adrien, this is serious," Marinette huffed. "I almost died-"

"Did die."

"I died," She corrected herself. "And you yelled at Chloe and maybe totally broke her. She could become an akuma again and I'm not anywhere near strong enough to take care of her."

Adrien finally lost that smile. He sat and contemplated her words. Slowly, he nodded and agreed.

"Do you want to press charges?"

"No, I think what she did was horrible and it _does_ count as total murder, but," She shook her head. "I just don't think we want anyone to find out, especially the media. They'll lay into all of us and start up rumors and you know how well those turn out."

Adrien could still remember clearly a tabloid having called her a "whorish slut" for having hugged several of the males in their class. And how he had nearly obliterated them as well. There hadn't been many tabloids running stories about them since. (Which, he supposed, was good. The regular magazines had thankfully agreed with his request for privacy, and he knew few in their class ever believed the tabloids.) He agreed that he wouldn't urge her parents to pursue anything against Chloe, but they would most definitely track down who had hurt her. Marinette knew that Chloe would rat him out immediately and deny having anything to do with him, if only to get back in Adrien's good graces. Maybe her and the blonde girl could be friends some day. Not any day _soon_ , but some day. Marinette whined in slight pain as she readjusted herself. Adrien nuzzled his head to her side, rear still firmly planted in his seat. He gently put her hand on his head and sighed lightly.

For now, they'd be fine. Marinette would slowly try to come to terms with the fact she had died, that she had been assaulted and left for dead solely because of petty jealousy. She'd stay in the hospital for as long as it took for her major injuries to heal and any tests they'd need to do. Her parents would be there every moment they could spare, and Gabriel would be there as well. She didn't even need to worry about Adrien or Alya and Nino, nor about Tikki and Plagg. They had sworn to stay by her side in shifts. One person per shift, just to keep her company and updated on things at school. Amazing they had still given her homework, despite the fact she couldn't exactly write without causing major pain to herself. But it was nice, for a hospital, and she'd endure. After all, she was Ladybug, nothing could keep her down for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first time I've ever written angst for this fandom, everybody
> 
> Question, would you guys like to know what Adrien/Chat did to Chloe in more detail?


End file.
